Arsenal Still in the Hunt for Gonzalo Higuain as Napoli Would Prefer to Sell Abroad

​Arsenal are not out of the race to sign Napoli striker Gonzalo Higuain after a fresh report claimed that the Serie A club would prefer to sell their prized asset to a club abroad, as opposed to Scudetto rivals Juventus. 

Reports during the week appeared to suggest that Juventus had agreed a deal worth £78m for the 28-year-old striker - and speculation that his move to Turin was imminent was further fuelled when a document from the player's medical appeared to leak online. 

However, according to Italian newspaper ​Gazzetta dello Sport, Napoli would prefer to sell to a club outside Italy, as to avoid selling their top goalscorer to rivals and potentially tightening Juventus' grip on the Italian crown. 

The new reports come after Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger confirmed he was willing to spend 'big money' to acquire the club's top targets. 

"I am sure that my chief executive didn't want to dampen the expectations on that front. We are very active. If we find the right candidates then we will spend the big money," Wenger said following a 1-1 pre-season friendly draw against Lens.

Gazzetta also claims that Paris Saint-Germain have accelerated their interest in the player, having lost Zlatan Ibrahimovic to Manchester United earlier this summer. 

Higuain, who netted 36 times for Napoli last season, will almost certainly be branded a traitor by the club's passionate supporters if he makes the switch to Juventus. Whether that encourages him to move abroad and thus avoid vitriolic treatment from the Napoli fans remains to be seen but, for now, the transfer saga rumbles on.